$1 million can buy you only this much space in Mumbai

Monaco tops list for real estate rates globally, while India's financial capital is near the bottom of the pyramid in new wealth report findings If you are a billionaire thinking of parking your money in real estate, it is perhaps time to look closer home. Mumbai is usually considered to be one of the costliest cities in the world, but it isn't all what it seems. According to a new wealth report unveiled by Knight Frank last week, a wealthy Indian can manage to buy 99 sq metre of space in the city for $1 million.

While India's financial capital is closer to the bottom of the pyramid, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo are the Asian cities that surpass Mumbai in terms of cost. At the top of the pyramid sits Monaco, where for $1 million, you can only buy 17 sq metres of space. Hong Kong (20), London (22) and New York (27) follow closely behind.

Interestingly, the report suggests that with the real estate market favouring buyers, there is bound to be a re-evaluation of pricing potential in cities like New York, London, Sydney and Melbourne. However, markets like Hong Kong, Singapore and Vancouver show an opposite trend owing to the limitation of space.

London calling

The interest in residential real estate may have waned in recent times, but wealthy Indians, like their global counterparts, continue to be drawn towards buying property in London. The Indian UHNIs (Ultra High Networth Individuals) also prefer to acquire properties in Dubai and Singapore. In fact, according to a survey, in the coming decade, the latter two cities are predicted to take over the coveted top positions currently enjoyed by London and New York, the report states.